Politics

Michael Krieger: The Saudi regime just passed a series of Medieval laws to crack down on all dissent. In a nutshell: Dissent = Terrorism. Simply exposing corruption could be seen as a violation of the law. Some also warned that Saudi women who get behind the wheel of a car in violation of the ban on female drivers could be tried under the new anti-terror law. Other worrying aspects include an article that says police can raid homes and offices on suspicion of anti-government activity without prior approval from a judge or even a superior.

On Monday, an Arizona state senate committee became the first legislative body in the country to pass a bill designed to thwart surveillance programs from the National Security Agency (NSA). Senate Bill 1156 (SB1156), the Arizona 4th Amendment Protection Act, was introduced by Sen. Kelli Ward and 14 other sponsors and co-sponsors.

TRNN: Obama’s address failed to look at roots of income inequality. President Obama’s State of the Union address focused on expanding economic opportunities by raising the minimum wage, making college more affordable and increasing economic mobility… During the previous five years of the current economic recovery income and wealth inequality has not only increased, but accelerated. That’s according to economist Thomas Hickey and Emmanuel Saez. Joining TRRN to unpack all this is David Cay Johnston. He’s a pulitzer prize-winning investigative reporter and a contributing editor to Newsweek…

Having been immersed in the left/right facade their entire lives, many have begun to see the world and those around them through that prism. Either someone is on the same “side” as they are, or they are the enemy. There is no room for nuance, no subtle distinctions to be made, no room for alliance or cooperation on matters of great import. Perhaps most devastatingly, there is now little room for any analysis of the powers behind the political throne, the oligarchical financial interests that could care less whether this or that President has a “D” or an “R” next to their name, whether a Prime Minister is “Labour” or “Conservative,” whether an MEP identifies with the “left” or the “right.”

January 22nd marks the beginning of a ten-day push by groups who work on a wide variety of issues to stop Congress from granting the President Fast Track for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The push culminates in an Intercontinental Day of Action against the TPP on Jan 31- with events and actions being planned all around the world. To help topple the TPP, go to stopfasttrack.com and follow the quick and easy instruction

Chris Hedges on what Obama really meant in his NSA speech: Throughout American history, intelligence services often did little more than advance and protect corporate profits and solidify state repression and imperialist expansion. War, for big business, has always been very lucrative and used as an excuse to curtail basic liberties and crush popular movements.

President Barack Obama announced reforms to the way the National Security Agency collects digital information in a speech at the Justice Department on Friday. The proposed changes include more oversight by the Executive Branch, reworking national security letters that force private companies to turn over customers’ information to the NSA and an end to Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which allows for bulk metadata collection.

Congress has a nasty habit that’s not going away. It has been stealing a few billion here and a few billion there from earned retirement and safety net payments, overlooking whether those benefits have been promised or are even sufficient. Military pensions, unemployment, disability and Social Security are all targets.

Marianne Williamson discusses her congressional campaign and why the political system needs reform of the heart and mind in this uncensored interview with Sean Stone on Buzzsaw. She outlines her goals for public office, the label of “new age,” running as an independent, and the dark lessons of the 1960’s in this full length discussion.

With this week’s issuance of the bipartisan investigation report on Benghazi, a raging Judge Jeanine Pirro confronts Hillary Clinton, head-on, for Clinton’s duplicity and negligence as Secretary of State.

Earlier today, President Obama outlined reforms of America’s controversial surveillance tactics – which had ensnared millions of people’s phone calls, texts and emails around the globe. After praising the NSA and its importance to security, he admitted it made mistakes in its collection of private data. President Obama also asked the Congress to establish an independent privacy defender in the federal courts, to increase the supervision of intelligence work. Michael Ratner: By portraying NSA surveillance as “patriotic,” President Obama ignores the violations of Americans’ constitutional rights. Julian Assange: This president has been dragged kicking and screaming to today’s address. He’s been very reluctant to make any concrete reforms. Unfortunately today, we also see very few concrete reforms…

Nigel Farage, Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), addresses the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France on 15 January 2014. Farage: “We are run now by big business, big banks, and in the shape of Mr Barroso, big bureaucrats.”

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